Dirk Nowitzki is regarded as the best international player in NBA history. Only the sixth player to reach the 30,000-point milestone, Nowitzki believes one day Kristaps Porzingis will best him. The Mavericks’ 39-year-old legend called the 7-foot-3 Latvian “a walking mismatch.’’

“He plays a lot more defense than I ever have, I’ll tell you that,’’ Nowitzki told The Post in New Orleans on Friday after the Mavericks beat the Pelicans. “He’s amazing because he’s got great timing with the long arms on the shot blocks coming out of nowhere. Offensively, he shoots it so easily from deep. He’s scary. He’s added more off-the-dribble now, more turnarounds in the post. He’s going to be a walking mismatch for a long time.”

Asked if his career accomplishments will top his own, the 7-foot German said: “He’s way ahead of the curve. My first year I was struggling straight out of Germany and he had that great rookie year. If he stays injury-free, working like that — and I know he will — the sky’s going to be the limit.’’

Nowitzki, who faces Porzingis in Dallas in one week, had worse scoring averages than Porzingis in each of his first three years. In his third season, Porzingis is now averaging 24.5 while Nowitzki averaged 21.8 points.

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Entering last season, Kristaps Porzingis was talking playoffs or bust....

Saturday, Porzingis broke out of a shooting slump in the Big Easy with a 30-point-in-32-minute outing. He was clutch down the stretch, scoring seven straight points in the final two minutes, including a hard right-handed slam with Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins underneath.

Nowitzki and Porzingis didn’t get to see each other when their teams were in New Orleans at the same time Friday. But they hooked up in Africa during the NBA’s promotional game in August.

“It was the first time I met him — I’ve met him but I didn’t have time to talk,’’ Nowitzki said. “But we had some drill stations together. He had a few questions about what I see. We were just shooting the stuff, getting to know each other. We were playing shooting games, having fun, enjoying each other’s company.

“He’s a good kid, hard worker — 7-3 with that wingspan and the shot. The sky’s the limit for the kid. He’s going to be great for a long, long time.’’

Before Saturday’s game in New Orleans, Porzingis said he needed to make an adjustment to draw more fouls, referring to, “Things I can do a little better to make it more clear there is contact.’’ After his 30-point night, Porzingis said he finally got most of the calls as he shot eight free throws, making seven.

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Jeff Hornacek wouldn’t commit to center Joakim Noah being activated on a daily basis, saying his gritty 13-minute stint to close the Pelicans’ win was based on a good matchup with Cousins. It marked Noah’s fifth appearance this season.

“Cousins is a big, huge guy who gives a lot of guys fits,’’ Hornacek said. “Those are guys Jo is very good at. I was happy for Jo he played the way he did. He wasn’t winded. That’s a credit to him.”

After playing host to San Antonio on Tuesday to start 2018, the Knicks embark on another three-game trip — Washington-Miami-Dallas. The Knicks improved their away record to 3-12 with Saturday’s win.